"Tapestry" at Asian Heritage Month

 

SAVAC is collaborating with the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board in presenting the film, Tapestry, as part of the school boards' Asian Heritage Month curriculum for May 2010. A lesson plan is available for teachers in grades 7-12, entitled Asian Reflections: Examining Asian Identity through Film: Tapestry.
View lesson plan »

 

Tapestry was directed by Sharlene Bamboat and was included in MONITOR 6.

In Tapestry, a Parsi family maintains tradition and identity through the fertility ceremonies preceding a marriage. But the performance of the rituals is unpracticed, self-conscious and clumsy, and a stubborn coconut symbolizes the challenges of cultural continuity for this small and widely dispersed community.

 

TDSB and TCDSB teachers can request a copy of this film directly from SAVAC's Education Officer, Allan Tong, by emailing allan[at]savac.net.

 

SAVAC is also presenting education workshops at "Community with Unity" a 2-day South Asian Community Symposium, organized by the TDSB. View program for the day»

• Big Stories, Little India workshop presented by Srimoyee Mitra
  Srimoyee will discuss SAVAC's Big Stories, Little India project that took place on Gerard Street East in September 2007. This workshop will discuss ways in which contemporary art practices can be used for community building and developing and promoting a better understanding of the South Asian diaspora and their contributions to Canadian culture.
• Tapestry presented by Allan Tong
  Allan will be teaching an abbreviated version of the Tapestry lesson plan.
  

On Tuesday, 18 May, 2010 from 9:30am–-3:00pm, Allan will be presenting Tapestry at the Asian Heritage Month Symposium at .ca">OISE, University of Toronto.

Heading two workshops, Allan will be teaching classes of high school students the importance of rituals, the central theme of Tapestry. (Not open to the public, for classes only.) Starting in the fall of 2010, SAVAC will be including Tapestry and other films from its MONITOR program to these school boards as teaching materials, along with lesson plans. Any interested GTA teachers can contact Allan for information.